Apparatus for cleaning out drain pipes



Dec. 2, 1930. Y J. c. MILLER 1,783,256

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING ow DRAIN PIPEs Filed DSG.v 13. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 vll/111111111111 l Ry. J

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING OUT DRAIN PIPES Filed DGO. 13, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ratented Dec.. 2, 1930 JOHN C. MILLER, OE `CHICAGrO, ILLINOIS APPARATUS FOR CLEANING OUT DRAIN PIPES Application led December 13, 1928. Serial No. 325,696.

This invention relates to devices for cleaning out conduits and the like, such as flues in furnaces and the water passageways in sinks, flushing bowls, sewers and the like. It has for one of its objects providing a long flexible rod or coil which is particularly adapted to worm its way into circuitous passageways, especially those havin sharp bends and obstructions of various kinds, the rod-having means liXed to the inner end for cleaning out the passageways or for .attaching itself to articles which may have lodged in the. passageways; The invention also covers means for making the device and also for manipulating the device when in use. Other objects of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the drawings and the following description thereof: l,

Of the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a pipe with my cleaning rod therein, showing the manner in which it is manipulated and forced into the pipe; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the rod itself and the handle therefor; Fig. 3 is a modified form of ahead which may be used with the device; Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a handle which may be used in manipulating the device; Figs. 5 to 7 illustrate the Ameans for making the device, Fig. 5 being the former upon which the device is wound, Fig. 6 being a view of the head of the device when partly completed, and Fig. 7 being a sectional elevation of means used in completing the head of the device; Fig.'8 is a plan view of a modi- "fied form of the device; and Figs. 9 and 10 are sectional views' of' modified forms of handles for the device.' v In general my invention comprises a long coil of wire 10 which is used for the purpose of forcing the cleaning head, such as the head 11, into t e passageways. The head 11 has a screw hook 12 attached to its inner end, the entire coil or rod and head and screw hook `being preferably composed of al single wire. In use, the coil 10 is adapted to be forced y into circuitous passageways,`such as the water passageways of flushing bowls, with the screw hook 12 passing inwardly so as to screw along any proj ecting-corner, such as the corners 13 of the pipe, and as the head 11 reaches the projection, it, too, will screw inwardly 1f the coil as a whole is rotated by means of the handle 14 or in any suitablemanner.

As the head is forced inwardl it tends to clean out the passageway,'rub ing against 55 the walls as it is rotated, and the hook 12 will catch on to any obstacle that may be in the passageway, such as a rag. The rounded,

oval, or egg-shaped head 11 assists materially in forcing the coil into the passageway, as 60,y it holds the end of the hook 12 away from the walls as the corners are being turned, and it also assists materially in cleaning the passageway,`because of its particular shape and slze.

To Iassist in rotating the coil, I rovide a handle 14 which has a bore exten ing c lear through from one end to the other into which the coil 10 passes and, by any suitable means, j the handle is fixed to the coil or may be released and shifted to any convenient position. It will be understood that, as-the coil 1s forced into the passageways, it is desirable to haveA the handle fairly close to the openings of the passageway and, as the coil may be very long, 15 or 20 feet if desired, it is also convenient to have the handle arranged to be quickly released and .shifted from one place to another.

- The' handle, which I prefer, comprises an. 80 ordinaryhandle 15, the bore 16 of which is large enough to receive the maximum size of coil that is to be used with the handle, it being understood that these coils may be made of various diameters for various purposes. At the inner end of the handle means are provided for grasping the coil. In this instance, the grasping means comprise jaws 17 which are semi-cylindrical and have roughened inner surfaces adapted to prevent slipping or rotating of the coil. The jaws are fastened to strap sprin s 18 which pass backwardly into the bore 0I the handle and have an opening 19 in the rear end registering with the ore through which the coil -10 passes. 95 These springs are arranged to tend at all times to open the jaws. y

Inorder to close the aws,-I provide an enlarged ferrule 20 surrounding the end of the handle and providea slot 21 inthe ferrule 100 into which projects a cam ears 23. The inner end of the cam is adapted to force the jaws together when the handle 24 is forced downwardly towards the handle 15 but to release the jaws when the handle 24 is forced outwardly. In order to adjust the jaws to the particular coil which is being used, a set screw 25 is threaded into the ferrule 20 and presses against the adjacent spring 18. If desired, a collar 26 may be provided through which the set screw 25 projects or is threaded and to which is fixed the ears 23. The inner surfaces of the jaws 17 are provided with grooves, thus forming projections 27 so as to more firmly grasp the coils.

Various modifications may be made in the coil by those skilled in that art without departing from the spirit of my invention. For example, Fig. 3 illustrates a head which comprises a coil 30 having a layer 31 wound back on itself and a second layer 32 wound back again on layer 31 with the screw hook 33 projecting from the outer end of the outer layer. In Fig. 3, the layer 31 is broken away to show the layer 31, and the inner layer is preferably merely a prolongation of the coil 10 and of the same diameter. This type of head is sometimes desirable when ,very large coils are to be used for flue cleaners or other purposes and a firmer head'is desirable than would be feasible with the head made like the head 11.

Fig. 8 illustrates another modification of the device in which the long coil is dispensed with and a short coil 35 is formed with a suitable head 36 thereon. The coil 35 is fixed to a strap 36, the inner end of the strap passing into the bore of the coil and being sweated therein or bein fastened in any other suitable manner. penings 37 may be formed in the strap by means of which it may be fastened to a long flexible strap which takes the place of the main coil 10. The short coil and the head 36 provide a lead for the strap so that it can be forced through the passagewa s.

n order to form the hollow oval head 11, I have invented means which can be conveniently used. These means comprise a former 40 on which the head is wound, so as to be of the shape indicated by the head 41 of Fig. 6. The end of the wire is held on the former in any suitable manner. I prefer to insert it in an opening 42 and set it therein by means of a thumb screw 43. The former 40 is then rotated and the wire heldin any ordinary manner so 'that the coil is formed and tapers down on the thread/44 of the former, and then the long portion of the coil is wound on the rod 45. The former is then slipped outJv from the coil and the end turns 46 of the coil are placed on the anvil 47 and the hammer 48 is forced downwardly on the turns and they are thus bent and gradually rotated Slo as to produce the oval shape indicated by the heads 22 pivoted to the,

ltwo semi-circular sections 11 and 36 or any other shape that may be desired. Any suitable means may be used for operating the hammer 48. I prefer a foot pedal 49, the anvil 48 being sufficiently massive to give a bending blow to the turns as the hammer is operated. A groove 50 is preferably formed in the under side of the ham mer and on the upper side of the anvil to receive the turns of wire as they are being operated on.

The coils are made of music or piano wire. rl`he diameter of the coils, as well as the heads, may vary materially to meet the particular needs, but I prefer wire and, as an illustration, I prefer to make the main portion of the coil with an outer diameter of substantially Ml and out of wire having a diameter of about .080. The head of this coil is made from the same piece of wire and may be substantially 1% in diameter. However, it is to be understood that the coils and wire and head may vary greatly in size.

When the coils are made of suitable piano wire, they are very flexible but are suiciently strong and will resist bending, so that they may be forced through 'sharp-bends and the head may be bent and deformed materially Aduring the manipulations without causing nless useless.

l0n the other end of the coil, I prefer to provide a bend 19 which is convenient for use in certain cases and, as the handle can be shifted anywhere on the coil, the coil can be reversed and either end inserted in the passageway, according to the particular use to which the coil is to beput. For example, the coil may be` used for fish wiresin passing electric wires through circuitous conduits. In such a case, the bend 19 may he inserted if the head 11 is too large. The amount of the bend may be readily varied as desired by any ordinary means. The bend 19 also assists at times in rotating the wire when the other end is inserted in the passageway.

Figs. 9 and 10 illustrate modifications in the handle which may be used. Fig. 9 shows 60 and 61 which are brought into registry by means of dowel pins 62` and, when assembled, have an opening 63 through which the coil is to pass. En circling one end of the assembled sections is acollar 64, preferably with the groove 65 in one side, through which the wire may be passed if desired. The inner surface of the collar and the outer surface of the sect-ions are made tapering as indicated and of such size as to cause the sections to firmly grasp the coil when the collar is forced more or less on thetapering ends of the sections.

In order to grasp the coil more firmly, the surfaces may be notfonly tapering, but may be threaded as indicated in Fig. 10, so that, by screwing the collar 66 onto the threaded ends, theywill be forced more firmly together, and, to assist in this, wings 67 and 68 are formed on the collar and on the sec prevent slipping of the hands coiled head on one end, said head being oval-v shaped with the adjacent coil turns normally substantially in contact, and having an integral screw-shaped hook on the outer end of said head.

2. A passageway cleaner as. claimed in claim 1, and having an integral bend on the other end of the coil of substantially the same diameter as the coil.

3. A passageway cleaner comprising an elongated coil, said coil having an enlarged head fixed to one end, said headcomprising a plurality of short coils telesc'oped on each other.

4. A passageway cleaner comprising an elongated coil, said coil having an enlarged head fixed to one end, said head comprising a plurality of short coils telescoped on each other, and a screw shaped hook fixed to-the outer end of the outer of said short coils.

5. A passageway cleaner as claimed in claim 4, in which said elongated coil and said short coils and said hook are all integral and composed ofthe same continuous wire.

6. A lead for a passageway cleaner comprising an elongated coil composed of piano wire, one end ofv said'coil having integral therewith an oval-shaped head, and an integral screw shaped hook on the outer end of the hook, said head and hook being made of the same continuous piano wire, and means fixed to the other end of the vcoil for connecting thereto a long liexible strap.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto set my hand.

JOHN C. MILLER. 

